Please review and distribute as appropriate.
On August 3, 2009, TxDOT awarded a contract to a joint venture of two Texas-based companies, Etech, Inc. and Pinnacle Technical Resources, Inc., to design, market, and sell specialty license plates. The vendor cannot begin selling specialty license plates until the Transportation Commission approves their fee schedule for adoption into the Texas Administrative Code.
The proposed rules went before the Texas Transportation Commission on August 27, 2009, and are tentatively scheduled for final adoption in October 2009. Based on this timeline, the vendor expects to open for business in late November.
Overview of the vendor-marketed specialty plates:
- 5 categories of plates: Background, Custom, T-Plates (Premium), Luxury, & Freedom
- Prices range from $55 to $795
- Available in 1, 5, and 10 year terms
- Unique full-color plate designs
- Vendor souvenir plates offered.
Specifics of each vendor-marketed specialty plate categories:
1. Background - Non-personalized
2. Custom license plates
- Personalized with 3 letters plus 2 or 3 numbers in a set pattern (ex, AAA11 or AAA111)
- Personalized with up to 6 letters and numbers on the generic plate design
3. T-Plates (Premium) license plates - Personalized with up to 7 letters and numbers (first character is a “T”) on designs made available to coincide with special events of public interest
4. Luxury - Personalized with up to 6 letters and numbers
5. Freedom - Personalized with up to 7 letters and numbers
The proposed pricing structure and a listing of specialty plates FAQs are attached.
The department will continue to issue the $40 plain Personalized License Plate until the vendor is open for business at which time new applications for this plate will be issued under the vendor’s new price structure.
The fee for personalization of other specialty plates may change in the future but will continue at $40 in addition to the specialty plate fee until further notice. There are no plans to change the $40 fee for personalization of qualifying plates, such as military plates.
The primary information for our customers is that there will be no fee change for existing personalization on any specialty plate (including Personalized License Plates) as these will all be grandfathered. These existing plates and personalized numbers will continue to be issued to the owners at the current fees provided they are promptly renewed each year.
We know there are additional questions about the vendor-marketed specialty license plates and we will keep you posted as more information becomes available.
We expect the proposed rules to be published in the September 11, 2009, edition of the Texas Register at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml. Comments on the proposed rules will be accepted for 30 days following publication of the proposed rules in the Texas Register. Customers may submit comments to:
Texas Department of Transportation
Attn: Rebecca Davio, Director
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division
125 East 11th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Thanks,
--Rebecca
If you have any comments or suggestions concerning this VTR communication process, please contact your local VTR Regional Office.
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